Audiences will enter a living, breathing environment when they arrive at a production of "Alchemy of Desire/Dead Man's Blues." Director Wendy Mortimer has taken a $500 budget to great lengths in creating a bayou complete with dirt ground, trees, moss and the sounds of nature in Strother Theatre. Seated on benches rather than standard chairs, the audience will be immersed in the action with characters moving in and around them. The show will be performed at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 23-26, Feb. 28-March 2 and at 2:30 p.m. Feb. 25 and 26.

Another unique feature of the show is surround sound. A guest sound designer from Illinois State University has been on campus recording vocal sounds with the cast to create a combination of live and recorded sound throughout the studio.

"This story takes place in a world that is marked by war," said Mortimer. "It challenges us to be responsible for our choices as humankind and explores the consequences those choices have on the community, survivors and the land itself."

The play starts with Simone, sophomore Terra Mackintosh, mourning her husband Jamie, senior Cory Miller, who was killed in a war after less than a month of marriage. As the play explores the impact death has on life, Simone's neighbors help her to look past her pain and cleanse her house and herself so that she can move forward. Scenes shift back and forth between Simone searching for a way past her grief and Jamie searching for a way out of wandering the earth to reveal pain that transcends time, place and situation.

The cleansing ritual portrayed in Ball State's "Alchemy of Desire/Dead Man's Blues" was developed with elements of modern Wicca, Native American shamanism and Latin American Santeria, which gives it an authenticity that could not be achieved in other ways.

"These women are alchemists," said Mortimer. "They live in a world where magic and music profoundly affect daily life, and we wanted to capture that as fully as possible."

The events in the play are paramount in Simone's journey through immense grief surrounded by a community, which turns out to be the only thing that can pull her back into its fold.

The show includes a modest amount of cigar and cigarette smoke. It runs approximately 80 minutes and will not have an intermission.

Upcoming productions include:

"Cabaret" — 7:30 p.m., March 30-April 1, April 5-8; 2:30 p.m., April 2, University Theatre. Centering on the sleazy and delectable Kit Kat Club, this multiple Tony Award- winner calls audiences to "leave your troubles outside!" Based on the play by John Van Druten and Christopher Isherwood, with music by John Kander and lyrics by Fred Ebb. Directed by Bill Jenkins, with musical direction by Harold Mortimer and choreography by Michael Worcel.

Festival of Dance 2006 ― 7:30 p.m., April 26-29, University Theatre. Experience the best tap, modern, ballet and jazz pieces choreographed by Ball State's faculty, students and guest artists under the artistic direction of Lou Ann Young.

(Note to Editors: For more information, contact Mortimer at wmortimer@bsu.edu or (765) 285-0976. For a downloadable, print-quality photo, visit www.bsu.edu/photoservices and click on "Upcoming Events.")

Kari Jones